For those that recall, my daughter recently totaled the Yaris I bought for her. I've been car shopping for it's replacement for a couple weeks, and finally broke down and bought an '06 Saab 9-5 Sport with a 2.3 turbocharged engine. Since the Volvo is safer, and cost less for her to drive (insurance and fuel) I decided to give her the Volvo and use the Saab as my daily.

Here's some of the fun features of this cheap little car.

- Paddle shifters
- in-dash CD Changer
- Sat Radio
- Heated / Cooled front seats
- Heated rear seats
- Power sunroof
- Full size spare
- Trip Computer
- Sport Mode (pressing the "S" on the shiter changes the shift RPM an increase power output from 1/2 to 5/8 of the SRT)

 

That really nice find , look to be in great shape for the price

 

Looks like another good find. Heated rear seats are nice for the passengers. Odd place for the key. Good luck with this one.

 

I hope parts are easier to find for that than the Saabaru I have

Nice car, all in all, I really like that the door handles are painted, on many of those they are that grey/black faded plastic that looks terrible...

 

I sat in a car park at Heathrow airport for 10 minutes at least looking for the key they said was left in the ignition.
I was about to give up and look for help when I found it underneath the hand brake on the console.
Logical place to put it, but not logical to a frazzled traveler who had not slept for 24 hours and who was about to embark on a journey on the other side of the road at 7 am in the rush hour. That was a 900, nice car.

 

These Saabs were really great cars. Reliability was above average and quality/performance on a par with German competition. Driver's side always reminded me of an aircraft cockpit. Only natural since Saab was born & designed by aircraft engineers.

Read the other day where Saab is back in business. New 9-3 model is being produced for Asian market. Hope it return to USA market in the future.

I looked at a 2011 9-5 Aero XWD sedan with the 2.8 liter turbo last year. The previous Saab dealer in Greenville had this left over from Saab inventory. But the dealer was awfully proud of that car because negotiation on price was for nil & asking price was nearly sticker! Finally sold the car to someone after he offered a 50k/5-yr warranty thru GM with the purchase (dealer sells Buicks & GMC).

Congrats on your new ride.

 

Due to the wreck, at renewal my daughter's car insurance increased from $1,600 to over $3,500 a year for her to drive the Volvo. As a result changes had to be made. The Volvo was sold for a very nice profit and we got her a VW Golf. The Golf is disposable and is insured accordingly (liability). She's learning some life leasons now.

It's a pretty clean car though for it's age.

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I thought I bought and sold them quick, but wow!

Good luck with the insurance, I know how costly that can be...

 

I had a 98 900 vert for years. Very little trouble with it. Had the 2.3 N/A engine, 5 spd. Smooth, impressive power. Nice car, but the Vt. salted roads did her in. Good luck with it.

 

Nothing wrong with a little Golf... those things are great cars! Give it some APR love and she'll be able to stomach the life lessons easier...

 

I told your daughters life lesson to my 17 yr old son. Hopefully he will retain the message here. Good luck with the golf.

 

I decided to service the transmission in the Golf today and discoverd the pervious owner or service shop had decided a transmission fluid filter was optional. LMAO!
Really, WTF are people thinking sometimes???

While I was under the car I decided to search for the source of the clanking it's exhibiting under braking. It was pretty clear that the driver's side control arm bushing was toast, so I did a search on an online parts store expecting to spend big money. I was quite surprised to find both control arms, tie rods, and ball joints for only $90 shipped! Damn, what a steal

 

I didn't feel like changing the timing belt in my daughter's Golf a while back, so I got her a Saab 9-3 for her 18th birthday. Also, I wanted her to have something fairly nice and more reliable.

 

I recently sold my daily driver Saab 9-5 for a nice convertible Lime Yellow Saab 9-3 Aero. The paint and top is 9/10 and the interior is 8.5/10. Very fun car that the wife and I are surely to enjoy this spring. I got it so cheap it should be illegal.

I've already ordered a Stage 2 tune, which bumps the power up 50HP. Also, I got an Evo 9 intercooler for close to free off ebay, so now I just need a downpipe and it will be Stage 3 time. The car books for around 8-9 grand and I picked it up for $4,800. I love a great deal on the car as much as beating Steve.

Just wanted to share my experience with the Saab's. I know most people don't think very much of them, but I think enough of them that I've owned two and bought my daughter one.

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I've never liked SAABs but for some reason I really like the 9-3 Aeros. I've thought about one as well, especially given it is unique and has a back seat. Hmmn, if I can find one pretty cheap it might be worth a look.................

 

I've always liked the Saab 2.3 Turbos - both the 9.3 & 9.5 models. The Lime Yellow cars are especially good looking. Congrafts on the find!

 

Unfortunately, my older son had several of those life lessons. The good news is, barring the surprise deer which he could not avoid, he has been accident free for over 4 years.

 

love the pictures grip. i especially like the yellow porsche! that car looks so amazing the owner is one lucky sob!!

 

I always kind of liked em better when they were 2 cycle.